The present invention relates generally to chewing gum. More specifically, the present invention relates to sticks of chewing gum and methods for manufacturing same.
Of course, chewing gum products have been known for a great number of years. A variety of different chewing gum products are known, e.g., sugar free, low calorie, etc. Likewise, a number of different shapes of chewing gum are known, e.g., square, rectangular, etc. For example, it is known to provide individual pieces of chewing gum in the form of sticks. These sticks can also have a variety of different shapes although traditionally they have a substantially rectangular shape.
Typically, during the manufacturing process of chewing gum, the gum components (water insoluble gum base and water soluble portion), are mixed together in mixers and then extruded. In the extruder, the gum is formed into sheets, pellets, or ropes. In the case of stick chewing gum, the gum is then processed into sticks. After the processing step the gum is packaged.
The packaging of chewing gum is important to keep the product clean and to reduce the tendency of the chewing gum, during storage or exposure to ambient conditions, to lose or gain moisture. In packaging stick chewing gum, typically the sticks of chewing gum are placed in a wrapper that comprises a composite material having a tissue or paper substrate that contacts the chewing gum. This wrapper may also have an outer metal foil surface. The wrapping process is typically accomplished using high-speed wrapping machines that package the individual units of chewing gum.
Typically, the wrapped individual sticks are then packaged with a number of other wrapped sticks of chewing gum in a counterband. The counterband is usually a composite material such as, an inner layer of aluminum foil with a paper and/or polypropylene outer surface. The counterband seals the individually wrapped pieces of chewing until it is opened by the consumer. The counterband is necessary because typically the wrapper that surrounds the stick of chewing gum does not provide sufficient barrier properties for the long-term storage of chewing gum. It also serves to hold several sticks together into a single sales unit.
However, it is also known to package single units of chewing gum in a wrapper that provides barrier properties. For example, reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 5,510,124.
One issue in manufacturing chewing gum sticks is the thickness of the product. Although a manufacturer may have a number of different products in its chewing gum line, preferably the same machinery is used to manufacture and especially, package each of the products. If the thickness of the chewing gum stick varies from product to product, this requires modifications to the equipment before a new product is run. This is especially true with respect to the packaging machinery.
Therefore, it is desirable that stick chewing gum products that are packaged (wrapped) on the same equipment have the same thickness. However, if a manufacturer wants to reduce stick weights, or the size of the chewing gum piece, this typically can only be accomplished by reducing the thickness of the stick of chewing gum. It should be noted that it may be necessary to modify the thickness due to changes in customer preferences. The thickness of the chewing gum stick may also be affected by the type of chewing gum product for example, sugar versus sugarfree products may vary in weight and/or density and therefore thickness. But, by so varying the thickness of chewing gum this creates manufacturing and processing issues.
Thickness is especially an issue with respect to the packaging of the chewing gum sticks. Standard wrapping machines dictate that either products having the same thickness are run or changes must be made to the equipment as well as materials used to wrap and house the chewing gum. If a chewing gum stick having a different thickness than a previous product line is run, different packaging materials may be needed. For example, if the same counterband is used for products having variations in thickness, this will cause the products to have slack in the package or will create significant compressibility to the product.
Due to environmental issues, it may be desirable to package chewing gum in a one piece wrapper instead of the current two-piece design, e.g., foil and printed wrapper labels. A one piece wrapper (for example, if the printed wrapper label is omitted) reduces the waste that must be disposed. Furthermore, cost savings may be realized by reducing the amount of packaging material.
However, by using only a one piece wrapper, the resultant thickness of the packaged stick of chewing gum will be reduced. Although this reduction in thickness may not be perceptible with respect to a single stick of chewing gum, a plurality of such wrapped sticks of chewing gum will not fit properly in a standard package. For example, in a seventeen stick package, not using printed labels around each stick of chewing gum, will shrink the total thickness of the chewing gum sticks within the package by 1/4 of an inch. This will create slack when standard packages are used. Alternatively, if the size of the package is reduced, the consumer may perceive the smaller package as indicative of a reduction in the amount of product contained therein.
A manufacturer may also wish to increase the size of the multi-stick package to give consumers the impression of greater product quantity without actually increasing the weight of product contained therein.
One approach to controlling the thickness of a gum stick is to use various means to adjust (usually lower) the density of the gum product. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,319, U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,596, U.S. Pat. No. 5,045,326, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,324,530 all disclose methods for reducing gum density. Such methods typically involve difficult and expensive mechanical methods which may adversely affect texture and/or shelf life of the product.
Therefore, there is a need for methods that allow the thickness of wrapped chewing gum stick products to be varied without creating manufacturing shelf life, product quality and packaging issues.